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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 3 Oct 2001

Vol. 541 No. 2

Written Answers. - Water and Sewerage Schemes.

John Bruton

Ceist:

665 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the way in which those using private water supplies, apart from group schemes, are eligible to get some of the 533 million set aside for improvement for water quality under the national plan; the new technologies for water treatment which have been successfully tested further to his reply to Parliamentary Question No. 49 of 30 May 2001; the way in which these are to be put into general application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21007/01]

My Department, through the local authorities, is addressing the situation of households dependent on private individual water supplies in a number of ways. New local authority regional water supply schemes, and extensions to existing distribution systems, are providing an alternative public water supply to households situated along pipeline routes. Households not directly served by, or adjacent to, public schemes can avail of group water scheme capital grants of up to 85% of cost, subject to a cost limit of £6,000 per house, for extending the public supply to their homes by way of group scheme. Where a local authority source is not available, groups are permitted to develop suitable local sources.

Grants of up to £1,600 per house – 2,031 – are available to households for the provision or upgrading of a private water supply to a single house where an alternative public or group scheme supply is not readily available. Eligible works include the drilling of a new well, the provision or replacement of pumping plant and any necessary water treatment or disinfection equipment.

The piloting of new technologies for treating small scale rural water supply systems is ongoing and innovative processes based on, inter alia, membrane filtration, media filtration and ozonation have been successfully tested under Irish conditions. Similar systems are currently being installed in a number of privately sourced group water schemes using design, build, operate – DBO – procurement. Last year I introduced a new 100% grant for the provision of essential water treatment and disinfection facilities in quality deficient group schemes, together with a substantial increase in the level of subsidy towards the operational costs of these plants. A number of single house and under-sink water treatment systems designed for use in small group schemes or individual domestic water supply systems are also being tested at various locations.

Based on the level of interest in this approach within the group sector, and the record levels of funding being devoted to the rural water programme, up from £8 million – 10.15 million – in 1996 to £44 million – 55.8 million – this year, I expect that the take up on these solutions will accelerate rapidly and that the current deficiencies in the quality of some rural supplies will be eradicated at an early date.

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